One for those who adore the good time glamour of the 1920, today's real wedding of the lovely Alison and Michael is a feast of vintage inspiration. The couple celebrated in high style at the Lough Erne Golf Resort, bringing their exquisite taste and eye(s) for detail to the proceedings, by creating gorgeous handmade decor echoing the heyday of interwar glamour. This was a couple who worked hard to create a day to remember for themselves, their family and friends, but made it all look oh-so-easy. Of course it was important to have experienced and creative photographers to catch it all in technicolour glory, so Alison and Michael called on the talents of husband and wife team Blackbox Photography and the resulting images are just fabulous!

How did you lovebirds get together...Michael and I both hail from Enniskillen and first met at play school in 1987. After being separated at primary and secondary school we were reunited when we shared halls of residence in Glasgow's Murano Street Student Village in 2002. Lots of shopping trolley rides, fire extinguisher soakings and food fights brought us closer together! We started going out at the end of our first year of uni in 2003 and have been together ever since.

How did Michael pop the question... After getting the go-ahead from my Dad who told him to “work away”, Michael proposed on Christmas day 2010 in my dining room away from the hubub and chaos of Christmas dinner preparations. It was an extremely cold winter and so I was dressed for arctic conditions and looked like an absolute rotter in my fleece pyjamas, Uggs and dressing gown when he got down on one knee. Even though we had been going out for 8 years and had talked about getting married it was a complete shock. I was most ungracious, hid my face under my dressing gown and turned away from him and was a shaking, blubbering mess. When I calmed down we were able to go and tell all the family who all cried with happiness. It was the most magical Christmas ever and the champagne flowed for the rest of the holiday."

Like so many grooms before him, Michael and the boys headed for a drink (or two) to calm the nerves...

And like so many brides, Alison took a few minutes to relax and breathe. Doesn't she look amazing?!

Alison chose a bridal look that channelled 1920's glamour at its best. Her Jenny Packham gown is just stunning with beautiful beaded embellishments with caplet sleeves and a detailed waist... "The beading on the arms made the most gorgeous sound as I moved and I loved how floaty the skirt felt. It was so comfortable to wear and I felt incredibly glamorous. I used inheritance money from my Grandfather to buy the dress and I know both he and my Grandmother would have loved it if they had been there to see it."

With such an exquisite gown, and such natural beauty Alison chose to keep her makeup fresh and dewy, and a soft upstyle that echoed the finger waves of the 1920s, but kept it modern and light. Aren't the powder blue shoes from Emmy Shoes (her 'something blue') just adorable?

Bringing tradition to the ceremony was important to the couple, choosing to be married in Rossorry Parish Church, Enniskillen  where 5 generations of the bride's family on her mother’s side had been married.

On route to the church Alison's nerves were put to rest by her Dad and driver George... George the driver was a legend, going for a snooze on the garden seat while waiting for myself and the girls to get ready, and then he and my dad chatted away about the car specifications on the way to the church, which made me feel really relaxed as it was just like any other journey and so typical of my dad not to be fazed by the upcoming nuptials.

Ah poor Lewie! No getting snap-happy during the ceremony, means his other better  half Lou had to make do with snapping her own hubby!

But they did catch the moment of truth - yay, it's official, Mr & Mrs Gulpin!

Alison and Michael needed some pro's to capture all the wonderful moments and vintage details of their wedding day, so who better than 'The Lou's' from Blackbox Photography... Just a couple of pictures will tell you why they chose to work with these two...

Complimenting her fabulous Jenny Packham dress, Alison added a headband from Emmy which had been adapted to ribbon,  it was delicate enough to compliment the dress and give a nod to 1920’s fashion. With such gorgeous beaded detailing on the dress, Alison kept the jewellery to a minimum wearing a simple pair of cubic zircona stud earrings (a pressie from the groom) and a silver and pearl ring that Michael proposed with.

Time to get the bridal party involved...

Love the bridesmaids powder blue dresses from Petticoat Lane teamed up with pearl necklaces -  soft, feminine and lovely

Alison and Michael have lived  in many places, but grew up and met in Enniskillen, so it was an obvious choice for them to have their wedding where it all started... "My dream wedding would have been to have a marquee on my Dad’s farm but when we priced it we were staggered at the cost and had to completely rule it out. The next best thing to us was the Lough Erne which is literally next door to our farm and which I had imagined having our reception at when it was being built several years ago. The views are absolutely spectacular, the service excellent and coming from a golf obsessed family it seemed like the obvious choice. We were delighted with the service we received and couldn’t recommend it more highly."

While lots of us love a bit of vintage glamour and are inspired to bring it to the wedding decor, Alison's inspiration didn't come from magazines or blogs, her style icon was a lady close to her heart... My late Nana Moore was a huge inspiration for our wedding day. She was an ultra-stylish lady with an amazing dressing up drawer complete with flapper style handbags and high heels. She also really knew how to throw a tea party and I remember so well her beautifully set up ‘drawing room’ with homemade cakes and sandwiches served on her finest china. When she died in 2004 she left me her 1920’s Grafton tea set and when I saw how other people had incorporated china cups into their wedding day that it made me think about having a similar vintage theme.

With the Grafton tea set as a starting point, Alison and Michael spent their 20 month engagement trawling Ebay, Etsy, charity shops and vintage wedding fairs for tea sets, embroidered table cloths and vintage suitcases.

Having fallen in love with Vicky Trainor’s ‘vintage drawer’ stitched goods, Alison decided to have a go at making the table names, place names and reception signage herself. Like all DIY projects it turned out to be a bigger deal than first anticipated and required the help of family and friends putting in a huge stitching effort!

The newlyweds lived in many cities throughout their courtship... "Michael and I lived all over the place before settling down in London and decided very early on that our table names would be the names of the streets that we’d lived on growing up and then as a couple, which included addresses in Enniskillen-Glasgow-Belfast-Dublin-Bristol-Exeter-Vancouver-London."

But that wasn't the end of the crafts and DIY for this creative couple... Another touch was to come up with a piece of amusing/interesting trivia for every guest at the wedding which was no small feat for 150 people! We typed up the trivia onto cards which we placed in a box at each table with instructions that each person had to read out the trivia to the table to then discover who it belonged to e.g. who at this table once let the bride loose on their eyebrows with an electric shaver? Throughout our wedding meal we could hear hoots of laughter throughout the room, making Michael’s efforts in creating trivia for each guest until 2am the night before the wedding all the more worthwhile!

Time for some fun and frolics with the bridal party...

Lough Erne is surrounded by spectacular views and rolling hills, perfect for some romantic moments for the happy newlyweds.

Back to the reception for dinner, drinks and plenty of dancing!

Talk about thoughtful, flip flops after a long day in heels- heaven!

What was your favourite moment of the day? The ceremony was our favourite part of the day. There was such an electric feeling in the air, we were both so happy and it was so meaningful saying our vows to each other. The Rev. Arthur Barratt was also brilliant, making jokes about my lateness and generally making the mood feel light and cheery whilst not taking away from the seriousness of the marriage ceremony. I also really loved the point at which Michael picked me up and spun me around on the dance floor during our first dance to ‘Into the Mystic’ by Van Morrison. It just summed up how we felt all day — elated! I also enjoyed just really letting my hair down and pulling off some crazy moves later in the evening.

What advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day?When the day comes, relax and enjoy every second. It absolutely whizzes in. Seeing all of our friends and family in one place, all beaming at me, and then Michael at the altar smiling with a twinkle in his eyes, was the most incredible feeling.Don’t be afraid to have a go at DIY projects yourself. I never thought of myself as particularly arty but I have a new found love of all things crafty!

Congratulations to Alison and Michael on their wedding day! Of course a big thank you goes to the guys at Blackbox Photography for sharing their work with One Fab Day! To see more of Blackbox Photography pop over to their website www.theblackboxblog.com.

The Wedding Details

• Ceremony: Rossorry Parish Church, Enniskillen
• Reception: Lough Erne Golf Resort
• Photographer: Blackbox Photography
• Dress: Jenny Packham
• Bridesmaids dresses: Petticoat Lane 
• Shoes:Emmy Shoes
• Flowers: Timothy Elliott Flowers
• Groomsmen suits: Ludlow/ Thomas Pink of Jermyn St/Hugo Boss

• Accessories: Emmy hair piece
• Cars: Bygone Days Cars
• Stationery: Hello Lucky 
• Make Up & Hair: Rachael Spence
• Wedding Bands: Hatton Garden
• Ceremony: Arco String Quartet
• Reception: Backbeat